Disable Smilies in This Post. Show Signature: include your profile signature. Only registered users may have signatures.

*If HTML and/or UBB Code are enabled, this means you can use HTML and/or UBB Code in your message.

If you have previously registered, but forgotten your password, click here.

T O P I C R E V I E W

tetrox

Looking through the Kennedy Space Center website, it would seem that the M-113 tracked emergency escape vehicles, which have been used since the earliest manned launches, are to be replaced with new wheeled replacements.

Emergency Egress Vehicle Arrives at Kennedy Space Center

With crewed launches on NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion spacecraft fast approaching, the Ground Systems Development and Operations (GSDO) Program at Kennedy Space Center led the effort to select an emergency egress vehicle that future astronauts could quickly use to leave the Launch Complex 39 area in case of an emergency. The first of four refurbished Mine-Resistant Ambush-Protected (MRAP) vehicles was shipped from the U.S. Army Red River Depot in Texarkana, Texas, and arrived at the center Dec. 5.

During crewed launches, the MRAP will be stationed by the slidewire termination area at the pad. In case of an emergency, the crew will ride a slidewire to the ground and immediately board the vehicle for safe egress from the pad. The existing bunkers around the pads would be used only if evacuation was not possible.

All four vehicles were transferred from the army at no cost to NASA. As each one arrives, they will be processed in and then transported to the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility near the Vehicle Assembly Building for temporary storage. The vehicles will undergo some modifications to meet NASA's emergency egress requirements.

Danny Zeno, a GSDO operations integration engineer, led a two-year study of several emergency egress concepts with a team of people from NASA centers and programs. The team selected the slidewire system and the army's MRAP Caiman, a military vehicle that was used for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"This is definitely an upgrade from the space shuttle-era M-113 tank design," said Zeno. "Working across agencies helped us to select the most versatile vehicle possible for NASA's purpose."

The MRAPs have increased operability, field of vision and capacity, and can travel at speeds up to 65 mph. They are driven like other common vehicles with a normal front view, except the windows are four inches thick. Inside, the closed and sealed environment contains fold-down chairs for up to eight passengers.

The 40,000-pound, heavy-duty vehicles will provide protection against chemicals and projectiles that could be carried through the air during a catastrophic event at the pad.

"We're in line with NASA's philosophy of saving money and acquiring a multiuse vehicle that also could be used by our Commercial Crew Program partners," said Tom Hoffmann, a GSDO operations integration engineer and member of the study team.

Currently, two URS Federal Services workers on the Institutional Services Contract have been trained to operate the MRAP. Zeno said there are plans to set up training scenarios for the SLS Program similar to those that were used to teach operators to handle the M-113.

p51

I’m not impressed, as a wheeled vehicle might not make it out of a nasty situation where stuff is burning. I was involved in some of the testing for the vehicle that became the MRAP when I was still an Army officer. MRAPs also tend to be top-heavy in some cases, far more so than the low-slung 113.

I think this has more to do with supply channels and how it's tougher to find people who can work on them than it is getting the right vehicle for the job.

Frankly, I always wondered why they never used amphibious tracked vehicles due to all the water and swamp land around the pads.

Robert Pearlman

Additional views of NASA's new Mine-Resistant Ambush-Protection, or MRAP, vehicles, including a look at the interior. (Photos credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett)

Fra Mauro

quote:Originally posted by p51:Frankly, I always wondered why they never used amphibious tracked vehicles due to all the water and swamp land around the pads.

Hey, it didn't cost NASA a penny to acquire them. Better than a study, a custom-made vehicle, etc. — five years later... they don't work!

p51

I wasn't thinking of a custom made anything, the military has had effective amphibious, tracked, troop-carrying vehicles since WW2.

Lots of stuff like this used by the Marine Corps since 1942 would have been just fine for this duty, far more so than any wheeled vehicle. Heck, I personally got one of the MRAP prototypes stuck on a test course one time, in beach sand covered in grass. Guess what we had to use to get the thing out? You got it, the thing had tracks!

Would the shock wave from an on-pad explosion be enough to topple these vehicles?

PeterO

I imagine the MRAP would be positioned head-on to the launch pad, so it would present the minimal cross-section, and not be susceptible to rollover. It weighs about 18,000kg, so even if it was parked side-on, it would be difficult to roll.